Friend —

 

I opened Facebook this morning to find a post by the chair of the House Environment Committee using language from Pennsylvania’s constitution protecting our environmental rights to justify his opposition to mask mandates.¹ You have to read it for yourself:

 

The Pennsylvania Constitution. Article I, Section 27 reads, "The people have a right to clean air…”  Forcing a child to wear a mask over their nose and mouth does not allow them to access the clean air that he or she has a right to breathe!

 

This is coming from the same guy who hosted a hearing last week on the environmental and economic benefits of pipelines and refused to let environmental activists attend.²

 

The irony is not lost on me that a pro-fossil fuel politician and staunch climate change denier is suddenly demanding clean air.

 

But calling out Rep. Metcalfe’s hypocrisy isn’t enough — we need to push back against his dangerous anti-environment agenda with more calls, more ads, and more staff on the ground fighting for legislation that would reduce pollution, not encourage it.

 

We're hoping to raise $5,000 by the end of August to keep this work going. Can we count on your support? 

 

If Rep. Metcalfe cared at all about protecting our right to clean air, he would be passing bills to limit air pollution. He’d be looking to invest in clean energy production that creates good-paying jobs, not supporting tax giveaways to big polluters. And he’d be supporting carbon reduction programs like the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), which requires fossil fuel power plants to pay for their pollution and invests in energy efficiency programs to help reduce energy costs overall.

 

If we’re going to reduce our carbon emissions in the very small window that’s left to stave off the catastrophic rise in global temperatures — which we’re already seeing in the form of scorching heat waves plaguing our state this summer — we need to address carbon pollution now. But Rep. Metcalfe has held up bill after bill to do just that — all to put polluters over people.

 

We’re prepared to go toe-to-toe with Metcalfe, Big Polluters, and anyone else who stands in the way of bold climate action. But to really scale up our advocacy efforts and make an impact, we need to hit our $5,000 goal by the end of the month.

 

Please, friend, we can’t do any of this without you. Chip in with a contribution today >> 

 

Thanks for all that you do.

 

Katie Blume

Political Director

Conservation Voters of PA

1 – Facebook post by PA State Representative Daryl Metcalfe, August 27, 2021.

2 – "Pipelines in Pennsylvania necessary despite shared climate concerns, industry says," Christen Smith, The Centre Square, August 18, 2021.

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Conservation Voters of PA
P.O. Box 2125
Philadelphia, PA 19103
United States